


Home Is Where You Are

by artobsessed_writes



Series: Soul Eater AU [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Black Blood, Cuban Lance, Deaf Character, Hurt/Comfort, Korean Keith, M/M, Slow Burn, Soul Eater AU, deaf lance, enchanted sword mode, hunk - Freeform, meister Keith, meister shiro, mentions of canon soul eater characters, pining lance, weapon lance, weapon pidge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-09-25 09:57:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9814361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artobsessed_writes/pseuds/artobsessed_writes
Summary: Lance McClain is one the most powerful weapon known. However, he lost his meister over a year ago and since then no other meister has wanted to partner up with him because of how loud and annoying he can be. When he is attacked in an alleyway on his way home from school one day he meets a meister named Keith Kogane. Needless to say it's hate at first sight, but Lance is desperate for a miester so he takes what he can get.As time goes on and Lance and Keith get closer Lance realizes that maybe he doesn’t hate his new meister as much as he thought he did. Maybe.(Hiatus)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first long written work and I am really happy with it. I don't know how long it will be since I am still writing chapters but I am having fun writing it 
> 
> This story will contain character and reference to Soul Eater, but in no way follows the same story line
> 
> I hope you enjoy and have fun reading

Lance was beyond annoyed. It was the first day of school of this third year and he still couldn’t find a new meister. Everyone said he was too loud or boisterous or just plain irritating. He kicked a rock as he walked down the street which led to his apartment. What did they know anyway? Sure, he was a bit much, but once you got to know him he wasn’t that bad. His old meister knew how to handle him just fine. If he could do it then someone else could figure out how to do it as well.

He turned down an alley which was a sort of shortcut back to his place. He stared at the ground as he walked through the wide passage. Why did they make allies do big anyway? Would he be alone forever? A weapon who was absolutely useless because he couldn’t find a meister? It had taken him forever to work up the courage to go out and look for a new meister and all that courage was shot down in a matter of minutes during the opening ceremony. Whatever, if none of the meisters there wanted him than he didn’t want them either.

“Hey kid! What’s got you looking so glum?” A voice brought Lance out of his lamenting and he looked up to find the source of it. It belonged to a tall man with auburn hair that was held back by a pair of goggles. He wore a biker outfit, complete with the studded leather jacket and fingerless gloves. He also had dark jeans on which were ripped at the knees. He was leaning against the wall of the alley and was surrounded by 4 other guys that looked just like him. Uh oh, this wasn’t gonna go well for Lance, he could say that for sure.

Backing up, the weapon turned around to run for it, but was met with the chest of an even bigger man than the first. Yeup, this was definitely going to be a bad time for Lance. Without a meister he can’t transform. Well, he technically could but he doesn’t have anyone to wield him so he would be useless. Some weapons are able to transform parts of their bodies to deal with situations like these but Lance never good at that trick unfortunately. He was really regretting that now.

“What’s the big rush? I thought you could hang out and play with us for a little while.” The auburn-haired guy said as he grabbed Lance’s wrist. Lance wrenched his hand back and kicked the guy in the stomach. He might not have a meister but he wasn’t defenseless either. As soon as the tall guy doubled over Lance made a break for it. He was fast but giant guy was apparently fast too. The weapon was almost out of the alley when he felt two arms wrap around his torso and lift him up.

“Let me go, you big oaf!” Lance screamed as he kicked wildly in the man’s arms. The giant lifted him over his shoulder and carried him like a sack of potatoes back to the auburn-haired guy.

“I swear, I’ll kill you, let go!” he pounded against the giant’s back but it did nothing. This was ridiculous. He used to be known as the best weapon out there and now here he was, powerless against a bunch of gang members. My how the mighty fall or however that stupid saying went.

“Awe, but Sweet Cheeks, if ya kill us you’ll ruin all the fun.” The auburn-haired guy grinned as Lance was put back on the ground but giant held his wrists together and above his head. Lanced strained against his grip but it was like iron. What the hell did this guy do to get so strong?

“What fun? Like you creeps knew the first thing about fun. I bet you’re the type of people that get pissed off when their motorcycles get toppled over like dominoes.” Lance spits in the guy’s face and the guy hits him in response. The weapon’s head snaps to the side and his vision is dazed for a second. Keep your mouth shut, Lance. Was that really something that was so hard to do? Apparently, it was. The hit had knocked his headphone off so now he was incomplete silence. That freaked him out on its own but now he was surround by a bunch of guys that he just managed to piss off. Lance was not having a good day today. The auburn-haired man grabbed Lance’s chin and jerked his head back so the weapon was facing him. Lance was wide eyed.

“Now, now Kitten. It ain’t nice to spit in someone’s face. You seem like a person that needs to learn some respect.” The guy grinned and brought his hand back to hit Lance again and the brunette braced for it. He could read lips so he knew what the guy said and it did not sound like this was gonna be pleasant for him. He shut his eyes and waited for the hit, but it never came. Opening his eyes hesitantly, he watched as the auburn guy who was in front of him fell over and was now laying on the ground. The giant that was holding his hands suddenly let go of him and fell over too.

Huh? Okay, Lance knew normal and suddenly having 6 gang members fall to the ground in seconds around him was not normal. Turning around he saw the cause of all this weirdness. There was a man about his height, maybe a little shorter, standing in front of him now. He wore a dark blue t shirt and black jeans that were very form fitting if Lance had anything to say about it and he did. He also wore the same fingerless gloves that the gang members wore. And he had a mullet. Lance blinked at that. When was the last time anyone had a mullet, the 80s? The man was holding a metal pipe that he apparently used to knocked out the guys that were attacking Lance.

Looking around frantically, Lance spotted his headphones that had been knocked off and ended up on the other side of the alley. Shit. He really hopes they were okay otherwise Pidge was gonna kill him. Grabbing his headphones off the ground, the brunette put them back on and turned them on. Oh, thank god, glorious sound. The last time he broke his headphones Pidge had made him wait two days before she would fix them. Two days in completely silence. She was evil Lance new that for sure. He was just trying to figure out how to prove it to her meister Shiro.

Someone cleared their throat near him. Oh right, mullet head.

“Uh, thanks?” Wow Lance. Really showing your gratitude to the guy that just saved you with that response. It seems that didn’t go over the mullet guy’s head either. He looked annoyed, as if saving Lance was a huge bother and he just wasted his precious time. Well Lance felt less bad now.

“Thanks? Really? That was the best you could have come up with after I just saved you? Maybe I should have just let them have you if that’s the only response I’m gonna get.” Okay, so he wasn’t the cheeriest of the bunch it looked like. Lanced huffed and crossed his arms.

“Why thank you all powerful and merciful – “he paused, waiting for the guy to fill in the blank.

“Keith”

“Keith. Thank you all powerful and merciful Keith. I don’t know what I would have done without you.” That wasn’t a lie. Lance really wasn’t sure what he would have done if this guy, Keith, hadn’t shown up but he wasn’t going to let him know that. Making sure there was just enough condensation in his voice he stared at Keith smugly, waiting for his answer.

“Shiro was right, you really are annoying at times.” Keith said while he placed his hand on his hip.

What? That was the last thing Lance expected to hear and why would Shiro say that? Like he is Shiro, the kindest guy in the whole wide world and he said Lance was annoying? Well everyone said Lance was annoying, but Shiro has never said it to his face like other people did. Now, Lance guessed that he was just bad mouthing him behind his back.

“Hello? Earth to Lance. You in there?” Keith’s hand waving in front of his face brought him out of his internal monologue. Lance blinked at him.

“How do you know my name?”

“Shiro told me when he sent me to go look for you. Thought you might get in trouble since you get spacy when you have a lot on your mind, his words not mine. He sent me to make sure you were alright.”

Keith looked at all the guys on the ground. “It seems his worrying payed off. How’d you let these guys grab you anyway? Aren’t you a weapon?”  
“Yes, I am, what’s it to you?” Oh, so now he was an airhead that needed to be babysat. Lance has never felt more humiliated in his entire life than he feels right now.

“Can’t you transform or something?” Lance glared at the mullet head, yeah that was a good nickname for him. Mullet head. Said mullet head was now leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and one foot pressed against the brick. Lance hated him already.

“I can transform just fine. Just…the individual body part transformation is something I am still working on. What are you? A meister or something?” Lance was getting impatient. He just wanted to go home, make hot cocoa and watch cartoons until he fell asleep. Was that too much to ask?

“Yeah. Keith Kogane, meister, third year.”

“Well it was great to meet you, Keith Kogane, but if you don’t mind I have hot cocoa and Netflix waiting for me at home and I’d hate to disappoint them.” Lance started to walk past the guy but he grabbed his wrist to make him stop. Alright people needed to stop doing that before he really starting shooting up the place. Meister or not he was gonna start shooting someone.

“Yeah, no. Shiro wants you to come back to the dorms. He has something to tell you. Heard you were looking for a meister and he thinks he found one for you.” Keith let go of his wrist as Lance spins around in excitement.

“Really? He did? What’s he like? Or she? I can totally work with a lady meister, if you know what I mean. Tall? Short? Blonde? Brunette?” Lance was rambling now, but he didn’t care. Shiro found him a meister, maybe he didn’t secretly hate him like the brunette thought.

“Jesus, do you ever stop talking? Shiro will tell you when we get back to the dorms. Come on.” Keith turned around and started walking toward the school. Lance followed behind him still asking questions about his potential meister. Maybe this day wasn’t so bad after all.

 

Nope, this day was the worst. The absolute worst.

“KEITH?! How could mullet head over here be my meister?! He literally took out six guys with a metal pipe! Does that sound like a guy that can wield a gun effectively to you?”

Lance was pacing back and forth in Shiro’s dorm room, flailing his arms wildly as he yelled. How on earth did Shiro think making Keith is meister was a good idea? He had just met the guy and he already hated him. Yeah that should work great when they are trying to do Soul Resonance. You know, the thing that requires meister and weapon to be in perfect harmony and synchronization. The thing that totally does not work if let’s say a certain gun type weapon hates his soon to be meister with a fiery passion. “Fiery passion” might be a bit much but Lance still didn’t like the guy. Shiro might be kind but Lance was really starting to question his intelligence right now.

“I don’t like it anymore that you do airhead, but Shiro said I needed a weapon and apparently thought you were the best fit. I don’t see how though since I have only ever trained with swords and you’re a gun type.”

That stupid, stupid, mullet head – Lance needed a better nickname for him, this one was getting old – was sitting on Shiro’s bed all nonchalant like with his arms crossed like this wasn’t the biggest problem of the century. Okay maybe it wasn’t and Lance was being a little over dramatic, but it was still a problem and Keith was being way to calm about it. Lance spun around to face Shiro who was leaning against the wall watching this whole thing.

“Please tell me your joking, right? Like ha ha, Lance you are a weapon forever alone, so I thought I would give you the worst possible solution by making the guy you just met and can’t stand your meister.” Shiro just shook his head. Oh, come on! Why did the world hate Lance so much?

“You need a meister Lance and Keith needs a weapon. If I thought you two weren’t compatible I wouldn’t have suggested you to Keith. What makes you so certain you guys can’t work together?”

“Cause he is Keith!” Lance didn’t have a lot of reasonable reasons for his dislike for Keith, besides the fact that he was a jerk when they first met but that seems like a good thing to start with. He heard Keith snort behind him.

“Wow, compelling evidence Lance. Ever thought of becoming a lawyer instead?” Lance’s face turned bright red, not because he was embarrassed, well maybe a little, but because this guy really knew how to strike a nerve in him and make him boil with anger.

“There! Right there! That’s why I can’t work with him because he is a jerk and I’ve only known him for an hour!”

Shiro sighed, “Lance, you’re missing the big picture here. You haven’t had a meister for over a year. That’s not normal nor healthy for a weapon of your power. When was the last time you transformed?”

Lance stared at the ground as he answered, “I don’t remember. It’s been a long time.” Shiro was making sense and it just made Lance even more irritated. Of course, it was unhealthy for a weapon to go so long without transforming but Shiro didn’t have to bring it up. He already knew the answer. He just wanted to make Lance say it.

Shiro nodded, “Exactly. You need a meister if you want to transform since you haven’t mastered individual transformation yet. Keith has never had a weapon before so it might take a little time to figure out how to work together, but I know you can figure it out if you really try.”

Lance looked at Keith who just raised an eyebrow at him. Fine. He’ll try, but not because Shiro told him to, but because he was in real need of a meister and at this point he would have to take anybody willing to put up with him.

 

This day really was the absolutely worse.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training, eating and learning about killer sword welding maniacs. Just a normal morning for Lance apparently

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little shorter than the first cause it's more exposition. The next chapters will all be at least 2000 words. I promise

Mornings were the worst. They were ten times worse when they had Keith kicking Lance out of bed at 6:30 in the morning.

“Gah!” Lance yelled as he got tossed out of bed and landed on the ground in a heap of blankets. “What the hell? What is going on?”

Scrambling to get the blankets off of him, Lance broke surface and breathed in a deep breath of fresh air. Looking around he saw a pair of legs in front of him. Moving his head up he saw those legs were attached to Keith, his meister, who was now glaring down at him and saying something.

Lance was too sleepy to read his lips.

“What? Did you say something?” The look on Keith’s face was great. Lance had seemed to make getting ‘Keith pissed off’ his daily goal ever since they got paired up. He has yet to fail once. He was really glad he couldn’t hear anything right now cause Keith looked like he was yelling. A lot.

To be fair, Lance doesn’t think he ever explained to Keith that he couldn’t hear anything when he wasn’t wearing his headphones. Still, watching him get redder and redder at Lance’s confused face was hilarious.

“I can’t hear you, dude. Like literally can’t. Speaking of which can you get my headphones off the bedside table? I don’t sleep with them so I leave them there.” Now it was Keith's turn to look confused which almost made Lance laugh out loud. They’ve been partners for nearly a month and Keith still hasn’t figured out for himself that Lance is deaf. He is either extremely stupid or completely oblivious. Lance didn’t know which one to go with yet. He did however get Lance his headphones like the weapon had asked and handed them over to the brunette. Putting the headphones on and turning them on was wondrous.

“Ah, wonderful sound.” Lanced sighed as everything began to filter through his headphones, allowing him to hear it. He has no idea how they work since Pidge was the one that made them for him but he was grateful they did.

“Whatever, can you hear me now?” Oh right, his meister was yelling at him about something not even two seconds ago. Maybe Lance really was an airhead.

“Yeup. Loud and clear.” Lance gave him a thumbs up and Keith just crossed his arms over his chest in response, huffing a bit.

“Good. Now like I was saying before; get up and get dressed. We having training in ten minutes.” Keith walked out of the room as Lanced just gawked at him.

“Training?! Training for what?” He yelled to his meister as he disappeared down the hallway. What the hell did Lance have to train for? He was the best gun type weapon he knew. Hell, he was the best weapon he knew. And that wasn’t an exaggeration, he worked hard to get that title. Getting up he grumbled as he got dressed. What masochist made someone get up at the crack of dawn to train.

Shiro was the masochist apparently. Lance knew he was hard core, but he didn’t know it was this bad. They were all standing in the school gymnasium wearing their work out clothes and standing across from each other. Pidge and Shiro on one side and Lance and Keith on the other. Lance wasn’t even sure the sun has woken up yet. Pidge being there was another shocker. She was even more of a night owl than Lance was and to see her up so early was just weird. She didn’t look happy to be here either though and kept glaring at Shiro so he guessed that made things a little more normal.

“Alright. Glad to see you two could make it. Keith, I wasn’t worried about but I knew Lance was going to be a different story.” Shiro said as he went over to the wall where all the training weapons were kept. He was way to awake for it being 7’ clock in the morning. He grabbed a wooden sword for each of them and tossed them over. Pidge and Keith caught their weapons no problem, but Lance was still half asleep and it hit him in the side of his head.

“Hey!” Both Pidge and Lance yelled at the same time.

“Watch where you throw that thing. That hurt.” Lance said, rubbing the side of his head and picking up his sword.

“Forget that, you could have damaged his headphones and I spent ages building those.” Pidge glared at her meister as he came back to the training mats they were all standing on.

“Wow, Pidge I am really feeling the love here.” Pidge stuck her tongue out at him. Lance really didn’t see why Shiro picked her as a partner. She was terrible.

“Listen up. Today we are going to work on reactions times. That’s why you all have swords. I know reaction is something Lance is particularly slow at and Pidge definitely need to hone her skills as well.” Shiro said, holding his sword in front of him. “Don’t hold back. If you get hit you lose a point. Whoever has the most points at the end will get a free lunch off campus that their partner will pay for.”

“Wait! I didn’t agree to this!” Lance yelled but Keith was already swinging. Jesus. Shiro wasn’t wrong about him being slow and it was really biting him in the ass now. He barely avoided Keith’s attack by diving to the right and rolling on the mats. Getting back on his feet, he held the sword like Shiro did and managed to block Keith’s next attack. The guy was strong through. Lance somehow managed to push him back despite not being as physically strong as his meister.

This was going to be a long morning.

 

Shiro and Keith won not surprisingly. Sure, have the guy who can turn into a gun somehow figure out how to wield a sword. Shiro and Keith knew how to use swords better than he and Pidge anyway. No wonder they won. It was totally unfair. Now Lance had to buy Keith lunch and ne just knew he was going to pick the most expensive thing just to spite Lance. Lance really hated his meister right now.

Lance stabbed at his food during breakfast. He was so tired. He had almost fallen asleep twice and he felt like he was going to do it a third time. He kept playing with his food as everyone talked and laughed around him at the table. He wasn’t hungry despite spending the last hour fighting for his life. Keith said he would never purposely hurt him but Lance really doubted that. No, Lance wasn’t hungry, he was more focused on the mission they had to go on this afternoon.

They had checked the board on their way back from the gymnasium. Pidge and Shiro got the mission that probably involved meeting lots of hot babes, while Keith and lance got a stupid church mission. According to the board, some sword wielding psycho was killing people in masses cause he claimed he wanted to become the next kishin. Literally every non-human soul says that. Why were they the ones that had to go stop this lunatic? Lance would have much preferred the hot babes mission.

“So, are you gonna eat or continue to stab your food like it’s the next Caesar?” Hunk’s voice brought Lance out of his thoughts and the Cuban looked up at his friend.

“I’m not hungry. Keith and I got a stupid mission and I’m sulking about it.” Keith was off with Shiro doing something so Lance had no problem complaining with him not around. Not that he had a problem complaining around Keith or anything, but that was really just to annoy him. If Keith knew he was upset about something as stupid as not getting the mission he wanted, he would never hear the end of it.

“Well at least you’re honest. What’s so bad about your mission?” Hunk asked as he stuffed some more food into his mouth. No one has ever heard of Hunk not being hungry and he didn’t seem to disappoint even now.

“We have to take out some crazy maniac who wants to become a kishin just like everyone else and Pidge and Shiro get the cool mission with the clubs and hot chicks.” Lance mumbled as he gave up stabbing his food. It wasn’t helping his mood anyway.

Hunk seemed to take more notice when Lance mentioned the sword guide. He swallowed his food and suddenly got really serious. When did Hunk of all people get this serious over a simple mission like this? Scared maybe, he was always the sensitive type, but never like this.

“I’ve heard of that guy. Killed 237 people with one swing of his sword. I’m not one to tell you how to do your job, but be extra careful on this one, okay? I know how you and Keith can get when you’re fighting and all I can say is try to keep a level head today. This guy isn’t someone to mess around with.”

Lance just stared at him. What made this dude so special? And what kind of sword is capable of killing 237 in one swing? Probably the kind that makes this guy so special, Lance. Jesus, his inner voice was really starting to sound like Keith and it was getting kind of creepy.

“Uh, sure. No problem buddy. I promise I’ll be careful, kay?” Lance gave him a thumbs up and he guessed that’s all Hunk needed to hear because he relaxed some and nodded. He went back to eating as if nothing happened and left Lance with his thoughts again except this time they were more about a crazy murder killing him rather than sulking about missing hot babes. Wow, Hunk really knew how to put him on edge didn’t he? Lance stabbed his food again and tried to push his dark thought of death away.

He never liked thinking about that stuff anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is a little late. I woke up late this morning and completely forgot about it until now. Hopefully I'll be better at this in the future

The church they had to go to was actually not as big as Lance thought it would be. It was definitely big, but Lance came from a religious family of 12 so he has definitely seen bigger. It was dead center in the middle of town and was slightly higher than the buildings around it. The steeple had a huge bell in it and all the windows were made of stained glass. Lance could see that they told a story about how the very first kishin was beaten and locked away by Death. Everyone knew that story and that was literally the bases of what their school was built upon so it didn’t surprise Lance that it might hold some religious significance as well. 

He and Keith rode up to the entrance of the church on Keith's motorcycle. It may have been in the center of town but that didn’t mean it was easy to find. It was pretty well hidden for a building with a giant spire sticking out the top of it. The locals didn’t help either. Whenever Lance or Keith asked about the church in any of the local bars they went to find information, folks would just freeze up and stare at them like they had gone crazy. The news about the 237 killings seemed to have spread fast and now people were scared to even talk about the place. That meant it took twice as long as the weapon and meister thought it would to find the building. Honestly, after searching for nearly the half the day they had stumbled upon it by accident. Thank you Lady Luck.

The door was huge and Lance actually had to look up to see the top of it. The board said that this was where the sword guy was hiding out but looking at it now, it didn’t look like anyone had been here in years. The paint was chipped and the wood of the door was all worn and looked like it was starting to rot. Never judge a book by its cover Lance figured. An old run down church was probably the best hide out for someone who didn’t want to draw attention. Unlucky for this guy that’s exactly what he did with all those killings. Not a smart move, dude.

Lance got off the bike and used his hand to block the sun so he could see better. The giant heaving orb in the sky was starting to set and it was making seeing anything nearly impossible. 

“So what do we do? Bust in there guns a blazing?” Lance asked as he and his meister walked up the stairs to the door.

“Do you ever think before you speak? How else would we do it? Just wait for the lunatic to take us by surprise?” Keith chided Lance as he pushed the giant oak doors. Lance grumbled at his words but transformed into his weapon form nonetheless. He remembered Hunk’s advice and decided to follow it this one time. Keith may be better at using swords, but he was getting the hang of wielding Lance’s weapon form. He felt the weight of the gun appear in his hand and he gripped the handle tightly as he carefully made his way down the aisle that was in the center of the church. 

The inside was in just as bad shape as the outside. The pews were weathered and worn and the cushions that were on the bars where people prayed looked brown instead the red they were supposed to be. The altar at the back of the cathedral had a huge statue of an angel on it. The statue had started to fall apart though. The angel had her hands in front of her, cupped as if she was trying to collect water in them. Her right hand was missing three of her fingers and the giant stone wings that sprouted from her back were broken and crumbling. One was half the size of the other, the stone that had fallen off now laid at the angel’s feet in disarray.

The low light was casting everything in shadows and different colors because of the stained windows. It made finding things that were out of place a little harder than they needed to be. Getting to the altar, Keith turned around to survey the whole room. Nothing that was in the light looked out of place but from the corner of his eye he saw something move in the dark. Whipping around to face it, he brought his gun up at the ready. Nothing moved now that he was looking at it.

“Keith! Behind you!” Lance shouted and in an instant Keith spun around to block a sword that definitely would have killed him if it had landed on his head like it was intended too. Grunting as he kept the sword at bay he looked at the person wielding the weapon. Keith couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl. Whoever it was had pink hair down to their shoulders that was looked like it was just chopped off with no regard to how it looked. They wore a black dress down to their ankles and it had silver cuffs and collar. As the person looked up at him from staring at the floor, Keith saw that their eyes were light purple but were dull and lifeless.

“Do you know where hell is?” The person asked him as they jumped back to stand a few feet away from them. They held the sword as if it was way to heavy from them. The tip dragged across the ground and made a horrible screeching noise, like nails on a chalk board.

“What?” Keith said as he grit his teeth against the noise. It was ear splitting and it sounded like it was reverberating through his head and skull. What the hell?

The kid, yeah he or she looked to be younger than them, tapped the side of their head, “It’s all in here.” 

They all of a sudden lifted their sword up and it grew a mouth on it. The mouth let out a head piercing shriek and Keith had to cover his ears. It didn’t help though, he could still it and it brought him to his knees. God, it felt like his head was going to split open. What the hell was that thing?   
When it suddenly stopped Keith was disoriented to say the least. There was ringing in his ears and if it hadn’t been for pure reflex he would have been skewered by the kid’s next attack. The sword hit the side of Keith's gun and cracked the outer shell. He could feel Lance’s pain through their mental bond. The weapon had been oddly quiet during this whole thing, but Keith didn’t have time to worry about that. He needed distance. If he had his own sword than he would have been fine but Lance is a long range weapon which meant short range combat was almost completely out of the question. 

As the blade dug deeper into Lance’s hull, Keith made a split second decision and moved the gun out of the way, narrowly avoiding the sword as it flew by his head. He jumped back, giving himself the distance he desperately needed. He held his gun up and looked through the scope. The kid tilted his head as Keith pulled the trigger and let the bullet loose from the barrel. It would have been a clean shot if that kid hadn’t sprouted wings from nowhere and blocked it. What fuck was this guy anyway? That same question repeated on a loop in Keith’s head as he watched the wings begin to flap and lift the guy into the air.

“You’re no fun. Mama said I would have fun, but she lied. I can’t deal with not having fun.” The kid moaned out and swung his sword again, creating a shockwave that threw Keith into the far wall of the Cathedral. He sank to the ground as he heard the sound of shattering glass and looked up to see that the kid had flown right through the mural of glass that was at the back of the church, behind the stone angel. 

Keith just sat there, trying to catch his breath. He was by no means an amateur when it came to fighting so how did that kid beat him so easily? Lance transformed back into his human form as Keith leaned his head against the wall.

“Who the hell was that kid? I’ve never had by hull cracked like that before.” Lance lifted his shirt to look at the long gash in his side from where the sword cut him. It wasn’t deep but the fact that the kid could even manage that was impressive. And not it a good way. He clucked his tongue as he looked at how much blood was getting on his shirt. He really liked this one too. Stupid stab wound.

“Hunk said he was dangerous but I didn’t think it was that bad. I was even doing what I was told and just listened to your instructions without making a huge fuss.” Lance whined and he hissed when he touched his fingers to the wound. Yeup, that was gonna need at least a few stitches. 

“Oh, was that why you were quiet through that whole ordeal? I thought you were scared or something?” Keith huffed as he closed his eyes and tried to make the ringing in his ears go away.

“I was not scared. Hunk just told me to be care and not be...well, me during this mission so I was just following my friend’s advice.” Lance used the wall to keep him steady as he stood up and offered his hand to Keith. Keith stared at him for a second but took it anyway and Lance pulled him up to his feet.

“So? Did you get hurt at all? You mentioned you hull has never been cracked like that before, does that leave injuries on your human form as well?” Keith asked as he looked like he genuinely did not know how weapons worked. Lance rolled his eyes at him. Why’d he get stuck with the most naive meister in the world.

“Yes, Keith. Damage sustained while in weapon form show up as injuries while in human form. Geez have you ever opened a school text book before?” His meister probably has but he wasn’t a weapon so they whole anatomy of weapons probably went right over his head when he was learning about that in class. Not to mention he had spent 5 years in a shack in the middle of nowhere because he didn’t want to be a meister anymore. It wasn’t until this year that Shiro finally convinced him to come back, so he was pretty rusty on everything.

“Really? Well how bad is it?” Lance thought he heard genuine concern in Keith’s voice when he said that. The look on Keith’s face told him he probably did. As much as Lance doesn’t like his meister and fights with him all the time, he still cared about his well being. Lance chalked it up to making sure Shiro didn’t kill Keith if Lance somehow ended up dead. He doesn’t think he is too far off the mark with that one.

Lance sighed, “It’s not that bad. Just a shallow gash up my side. A few stitches should do the trick. It’ll heal in no time.” Lance lifts up his shirt again so Keith can see his injury. He watched as Keith sucked in a breath at the sight of it. Like he said it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either. No gash on his side would have been good. He let his shirt drop again and crossed his arms. He may or may not be leaning to the side that doesn’t have a cut. Now that the adrenaline from the fight was wearing off he was starting to feel the pain from it. It’s not like it’s the first time he has been hurt during a fight and he could handle pain way better than most weapons could. Complaining or whining about it won’t fix it so Lance doesn’t whine or complain. Instead he just turns on his heel and starts walking out of the church.

“Come on slow poke! This gash isn’t gonna stitch itself up which means I got a date with the hot new nurse at school.” Lance said as smoothly as he could through the strain that the pain was putting on his voice. He got on Keith's motorcycle and his meister followed suit, getting on the bike as well and revving it up. Normally Lance would just hold the sides of the seat to keep him steady but the gash was making it hard to do that. After a few seconds of thought, he wrapped his arms around Keith's middle and held on. His miester didn’t protest, in fact he didn’t seem to notice at all. 

Lance would undoubtedly deny it later but he kind of liked holding on to Keith like this. Kind of like an anchor. Something he had been missing for a long time since what happened to his previous meister. 

It was nice.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun to write cause I got to write more development on Keith and Lance's relationship

Stitching up the wound didn’t take long. The only reason Lance was in there for more than half an hour was because he was busy flirty with the nurse. It wasn’t easy when you were lying on the table with your side cut open but Lance thought he was doing pretty good regardless. Keith didn’t like blood or watching someone get stitched up all that much so he waited outside the nurse's office. He said the sight of blood just made him uneasy and Lance didn’t really question it all that much, everyone has there phobia. Lance was actually kind of glad he wasn’t in the room with him because as much as he bragged about being able to handle a lot of pain, having a needle go through your skin over and over was a bit much. Lance vowed then and there to never, ever get a tattoo for as long as he lived.

When it was all over and the nurse said he was free to go, Lance immediately went to the cafeteria to get food with Keith. His meister complained all the time that he was the one that did most of the work running around during fights so Lance whining about needing to eat after one was unnecessary. Lance really hoped that one day they would make a device that let miesters know the amount of energy weapons used just to stay in weapon form. Bottom line he was starving and nothing Keith said was gonna make him think twice about getting something to eat. Getting to the cafeteria and grabbing as much food as he could, he looked around the room to find anyone he knew.

He saw Pidge and Shiro across the room and bounded over to them with Keith following behind him at his heels. 

“Yo! Whatcha guys up too?” He said as he plopped down on the bench next to him. He put his food tray on the table and began to dig in, eating like he hasn’t had anything to eat in a hundred year. It sure felt that way at least.

Pidge looked up from her DS that she was playing at the table much to Shiro’s dismay, “Where have you been? Hunk said you guys got back nearly an hour ago.”

Lance had to swallow his food before he could answer her. “Oh ya know, the usual. Fought a sword wielding maniac with wings and got nicked a bit. Nothing that bad but it did need a few stitches to that’s why we’re late.” Keith, who was sitting next to him, seem to get tense at the mention of his injury and Lance gave him a questioning look. What was his problem? 

“Stitches? That’s not okay, that’s something to worry about Lance.” Shiro said worriedly like the mother hen he always was. Lance huffed. The last thing he wanted was Shiro to go off on some stupid lecture about safety and not let him eat.

“I’m fine, Shiro. It wasn’t deep. It needed like 4 stitches, maybe 5 or 6. Still, I am 100 percent okay.” Lance said as he stuffed food into his mouth so he didn't have to continue this conversation. He was one of the greatest weapons out there, a small cut wasn’t gonna kill him. Sure, he may have lost some of his power because of the death of his meister but that didn’t mean his friends had to baby him. He wasn’t a weak link they needed to look after. He was strong and independent and wow did he suddenly feel really nauseous. 

It’s not like he was eating that fast so why did he all of a sudden feel like he was going to throw up? Lance got up from his seat and immediately knew that was a mistake. Not only was he nauseous but now he was dizzy too. Black spots were starting to dot his vision and he blinked rapidly to make them go away. He stepped back from the seat and wobbled a bit, his legs were going to give out on him any second at this rate. Strong hands were on his shoulders as he began to fall forward. He could hear Keith yelling his name but he couldn’t respond. His throat felt tight and raw, like had just gotten over being sick. Bringing his hand up to his mouth, he coughed into it. Maybe he was getting sick. That would explain what was happening to him. The yelling from Keith was getting more frantic and Lance tried to figure out why. 

Looking down at the hand that had been at his mouth he saw the reason. Blood? But it couldn’t be. It wasn’t red like blood was supposed to be but instead it was black. Had he coughed up black blood? What did that even mean? 

Lance didn’t get to finish his line of questions because suddenly the world was tilting and his was falling again. He didn’t even get to think about hitting the ground before two arms wrapped around him and pulled him against someone’s chest tightly. Probably Keith. He was the one that was yelling and holding on to him before, anyway. Lance felt terrible and his side burned like it had been lit on fire but being in Keith’s arms wasn’t so bad. It felt good in fact. Even as Lance’s whole world went black and he was still very confused on what was going on, he felt safe. Keith was there with him. Maybe he trusted Keith more than he thought he did. Now that was a funny thought.

 

When Lance woke up,the best description for how he felt was death. His head hurt so bad it felt like someone was beating it with a sledgehammer. His throat still burned and his side ached. His eyes felt heavy and it was difficult to open them. When he did, it took him a few minutes to figure out where he was cause his mind felt slow and sluggish. He was back in the nurse's office. Why was he here again? Oh yea, he freaked out in the cafeteria and passed out. Not fun. 

Lance turned his head slowly to the side and saw Keith in the chair next the bed he was in. He was sleeping so that must mean Lance has been out for awhile. Looking out the giant windows on the far wall he could see that the moon was out. It stared back at him with it’s ridiculous blood stained grin. He must have been in real bad shape if they made him stay the night at the school. Speaking of which, what was wrong with him? He had been fine after he got his side stitched up. Sure, it hurt a bit but it wasn’t unbearable and that didn’t explain the nausea he suddenly got. Not to mention the black stuff that he had coughed up. Was it blood like he had first thought? But why was it black? Lance continued to stare at the moon as his mind raced with questions. He was too tired to turn his head again so he just watched as the moon loomed over the sleeping town. Not for the first time Lance wondered if there was a pool or a lake directly below the moon that was filled with the blood that dripped from its mouth. 

Keith shifted in his seat and Lance flicked his eyes to him. He was stunning in the moonlight. His pale skin seemed to glow and his eyelashes fluttered on his cheek as he dreamed. Something warm in Lance’s chest bloomed at the thought of his meister staying here until he woke up. Keith could have gone back home, he had a key so nothing was stopping him from doing that, but instead he was sitting next to Lance while he was in the infirmary.

He could just imagine the argument Keith and Shiro undoubtedly got into when Keith said he would stay here. Shiro cared for Lance a lot but he also cared for Keith as well. He probably cared about Keith more in fact, even if it was by like 0.000001 percent. Lance didn’t mind that though since it made sense. Shiro and Keith were like brothers. Shiro had found Keith when he was young after his village had been ransacked by a non human soul. Shiro always told the story with a soft smile on his face and Lance had loved listening to it. He liked the version of Keith that Shiro would talk about. He seemed strong and his will to becoming even greater than he was then inspired Lance when he was a first year. He was no different now but he seemed to clash with Lance’s personality and it made things harder than they needed to be

Keith was one of the reasons he aspired to be the greatest weapon in the school. He had achieved it too by his second year. He and his meister were an unstoppable team. Lance had almost become a Death Scythe even. It was always weird to think of himself becoming a scythe when his weapon form was a gun but he figured it was just a general term used for weapons that finally achieve 99 non human souls and a witch's soul. He had been so close to becoming one but then his meister was killed and he spent the next year sulking in self pity. He was technically supposed to be a fourth year but was held back because of what happened. 

Keith opening his eyes brought him out of going down memory lane and Lance tried his best to smile at him. He still felt horrible but he didn’t want his meister to worry anymore than he already was. Lance thinks maybe he was starting to hate Keith a little bit less. 

“Hey, mullet head. Glad to see you’re up. Maybe now you could take me home. I don’t really want to be here anymore. Infirmaries suck.” Lance’s voice was rough and scratchy and it hurt to talk but he tried to make it as light as possible. Keith was up and out of his chair. Moving to  Lance’s side the second he saw he was awake.

“You idiot. What the hell happened to you? Suddenly passing out in the middle cafeteria like that nearly scared me half to death. Don’t ever do something like that again or I swear I will kill you.” Lance didn’t have his headphones on so he couldn’t hear if Keith was yelling or not. He was a bit grateful for that cause he head was still pounding but the anger in his eyes burned brightly. 

“I’m sorry.” Lance didn’t usually apologize but he felt bad for scaring his meister like that, “I don’t know what happened. One minute I was fine and then the next I felt like I was going to throw up and then passed out” Lance didn’t want to talk. This was probably the first time he has ever felt that in his entire life. Talking was something he prided himself on. He always knew how to make a bad situation lighter with stupid jokes and corny pickup lines. Now thought he didn’t feel like he had the energy to that even if he wanted to. He just wanted to go home and sleep some more. Keith seemed to understand that because he didn’t press the matter again. He went to go tell the nurse, who had stayed late to check on Lance, that he was awake. She came over to the bed and checked Lance over. Lance didn’t have the energy to flirt so he just did everything the nurse told him to do without a fuss. When she was finished she turned to Keith and said something that Lance didn’t see and handed him a bag of pills it looked like. 

The school wasn’t too big on having equipment to help injured student move around so Keith had to carry Lance home. He had fallen back asleep somewhere in the middle of the trip and only woke up for a few seconds when Keith laid him in his bed. He reached his hand out to grab Keith's shirt when he turned to leave the room without putting much thought into it. Lance didn’t want him to leave but he mouth was too dry to speak so he couldn’t tell him that. Either his meister was telepathic or Lance was too pathetic to leave alone, he didn’t know, but Keith seemed to get the message and sat down the bed next to Lance. Lance didn’t let go of his shirt when he sat down but instead held on tighter, afraid Keith would leave him when Lance fell asleep. Before he did fall back asleep  though, he felt warm fingers run through his hair, soothing him and letting his dreams be peaceful. 

Yeah, maybe he didn’t hate Keith as much as he thought he did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this early since I have a very busy day today. This time I got to write more about Lance's past and just some cute domestic stuff before everything goes down in the next few chapters

Lance ended up stuck in bed for 3 days after what happened in the cafeteria. He didn’t have to go to class so that was great and all, but he was bored. 3 days and the headmaster still hasn’t given him the okay to go back to school yet. He was getting restless. Lance was never known for someone who could sit still for long periods of time. He had to get up and move around, despite Keith’s warnings about not walking or doing anything strenuous for the next few days.

Lance got out of bed and wandered into the living room after Keith left for school. Lance might be under house arrest, but Keith still needed to attend afternoon classes. He had cut to many of them so now he was stuck making them up while Lance had to stay at home alone. Lance hated being alone but like hell he was going to whine about it to Keith. He wasn’t a baby or anything, he just preferred to have people around. That wasn’t weird, right?

The apartment was strange without Keith in it. Lance had been living on his own for over a year so the quiet wasn’t anything new, but he never liked it. It seemed he had gotten used to have someone else in the house even if it has been only a month or so. Lance would never tell Keith this, but he liked having his meister around. It reminded him of his family of 12 that he used to live with before he moved out to the city. There was never any quiet there. Either his little sister would be screaming for their mom’s attention or his older brother would be blasting his music so loud the walls shook. Every time you entered the house, kids would run up to you and greet you with giant smiles on their faces. Lance wasn’t the only weapon in the family. His oldest sister was a Gatling gun and his youngest sister was just learning how to turn into a pistol. Weapon type seemed to be an inherited thing which was why he and his siblings were all guns. He just so happened to be the only boy in his family to be a weapon.

Lance always felt like he had to live up to his older sister’s expectations. He was one of the most powerful weapons out there but compared to his sister he was barely anything. She and her meister were incredible. She became a death scythe in her second year of school and has only gotten stronger as the years have gone on. He would never be at the same level as her and it upset him sometimes. He was just as hardworking as she was, if not more but he was always second best, always living in her shadow. Nothing he ever did was good enough in her eyes it felt like. She loved him very much and told him constantly that she was proud of him no matter what he did but he knew she just said that to make him feel better.

Despite that though, Lance missed his family. He missed his mom making pancakes every Saturday morning. He missed his dad coming home late from work but still tucked the younger ones into bed. He even missed his younger siblings kicking and pulling his hair when they all slept in the same bed. Sitting down on the living room floor of his apartment Lance started to miss Keith. His animosity toward the meister seems to have lessened a bit since they started working together. Sure, they still argue with each other and there are times when Lance wants to shoot the mullet head in the face but that is mostly when they are still running high on adrenaline from a fight.

Keith hasn’t left his side since Lance was put under house arrest. Of course, he had to go to classes like he does right now but whenever he is home he is always making sure Lance is okay. It’s a strange feeling. To be cared for to the extent that Keith is caring for him. Lance didn’t like it at first. He thought Keith was only doting on him because he pitied the gun type weapon. Lance hates looking weak in front of people, especially his meister's. He was the same way with his previous meister. Lance just hated people worrying about him when they could be spending their time on more important things.

The more Keith took care of him though, the less Lance thought it was out of pity. His meister looked like he genuinely cared about his weapons well being and he probably did. Miesters are more than just someone to wield a weapon. They are stronger than a normal person in both spirit and mind. They are fiercely loyal and seem to always have the need to take care of others. Their weapons are normally their top priority. Since weapons expel more energy on a daily basis because of the need to transform and attack, they are usually a bit weaker than their partners. Not by a whole lot but there is a definite difference between the strength of their soul and the strength of their meister’s soul. Because of that miesters need to always be aware of the about of energy their weapon is using and the toll it’s taking on their body.

Keith wasn’t the best at that when they first became partners. He was bad a gauging how much power Lance had. Lance was more powerful than the average weapon so when he created a link with Keith it was like a punch in the face to the meister. It took a while for Keith to get used to the power and even after than he was still new to a lot of the things miesters needed to do for their weapons. Now though, he seemed to have it down to a science. Lance figures a lot of it is instinctual and even if Keith has never had a weapon before, he can still pick up on small things that Lance didn’t even know he was showing.

Emotions and feelings are the easiest thing to send through their link. It’s so easy that a lot of the times Lance will send a feeling through without even realizing it and vice versa from Keith. When Keith brought Lance home after he fainted at school the link was filled with worry. There was so much of it that Lance started to get anxious about the tiniest of things because the feeling was overpowering. It made him a little happy though that his meister was so worried that it clogged up the mental link that much. Lances was sure his pain and fear dominated the link when he first starting coughing up black blood, Keith had confirmed for him that it was indeed black blood, so the worry wasn’t surprising.

Pulling a box out from under the T. V. stand where all the movies were, Lance shook his head to clear it of the gloomy thoughts threatening to take his mind over. He didn’t like thinking about those kinds of things and he needed a way of distracting himself. He put the box on the floor and opened it up. He dumped all 1,000 pieces of the puzzle inside the box out onto the wooden floor. Normally he would draw to take his mind of things but he didn’t feel like doing that right now. Spreading the pieces out and making two piles, one for border pieces and one for inside pieces, he got to work on the giant puzzle. It’s been a awhile since he has done something as mundane as work on a puzzle and it was a nice change of pace from his usually hectic life of fighting non-human souls.

Lance was only halfway done with the puzzle when Keith walked through the door. He had left overs that he heated up sitting next to him and a mug filled with his third cup of hot cocoa next to the plate of food as he sat in front of the puzzle and thought about where the next piece should go. Keith walked into the living room and looked down at what Lance was doing.

“How long have you been out of bed?” He asked. His voice was full of question but Lance could hear the underlying accusation in it. He had been told to stay in bed until Keith let him know he could get up and he didn’t listen.

“Not long. I got up a few minutes after you left for class.” Lance said, keeping his eyes trained on the puzzle before him. He knew his meister was mad at him. Keith had told him that if he ever needed anything to call him because Lance was still in no state to be doing things on his own. In Lance’s defense, it’s not like it took a lot of effort to put a puzzle together but he knew that wasn’t what his meister was mad about. He was mad at the fact that his weapon blatantly disobeyed his request and had gotten up to do something on his own. Lance may have been fine with doing a puzzle but if he had tried doing something else that required more taxing work and hurt himself, Keith wouldn't have been there to help him and that scared the meister. Lance felt kind of bad for scaring him but he was getting so fidgety in bed and needed something to let his pent up energy out.

Keith sighed,  “Fine. Just next time wait until I get back from class to get out of bed alright? I’d hate it if I had to explain to Shiro why you are more hurt than when you came home because you decided to do something on your own.”

Lance smiled a bit as he continued fitting pieces together in his puzzle. That was Keith’s reason for everything. Every time he did something for Lance or when Lance question his reason for caring about him, Keith would tell him it was because Shiro would kill him if Lance ended up hurt on his watch. It was an obvious lie that Lance saw through on day one but Keith sticks to it and Lance doesn’t have a big problem with it. Just the fact that Keith is caring about his welling being at all is nice so Lance doesn’t push his luck by asking too many questions.

Keith went into the kitchen to make himself something to eat. Lance glanced up at him and watched him as he moved around the kitchen with all the natural grace Lance lacked. It was a new hobby for Lance while he has been sick to watch Keith when he wasn’t looking. First, he had thought it was because there was really nothing else to do when you were stuck in bed but as the days went on he realized he was doing it more and more and it soon became a thing he would do whenever Keith turned his back. He would be lying if he said that Keith wasn’t handsome. He was toned and his pale skin looked amazing against his black hair. His eyes were a striking dark purple and seemed to shine like gems whenever he got heated up during a fight or when he argued with Lance and they butted heads.

When he moved, it was like he was moving through water. Lance supposed it came from years of training with swords. Everything he did seemed to have a purpose. His movements were clear and precise, never leading you to think he was doing something other than what he intended unless he wanted them too. Lance watched as the muscles in his back moved under his shirt and it took everything in him to not stare for too long. The same warm feeling that he felt before when he watched Keith sleep was starting to creep its way into his chest. He didn’t dislike it but he wasn’t sure what it meant either.

Keith came back to the living room when he was done with his food and sat down across from Lance on the floor. The feeling grew more as Keith started to help Lance with his puzzle. He didn’t say anything, he just started putting pieces together on the top while Lance worked on the bottom. Lance knew a blush was starting to form on his cheeks so he kept his head down and focused on the puzzle.

He didn’t hate his meister anymore, now he thinks Lance might be falling for him. This was worse than hating him and Lance had no clue what to do about it.

Lance was so screwed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now all that Fluff is over for now. Don't worry Lance and Keith won't be mad at each other forever

It was a week and a half later when Lance was given the okay to come back to school. Lance was ecstatic. He was sick of laying around the house with nothing to do. Even if he did have to go to classes he didn’t care, at least he was out of the house and doing things again. Lance relished the feeling of the wind blowing through his hair as he and Keith rode to school on Keith’s motorcycle. He would have hollered and yelled too if Keith hadn’t glared at him and threaten him the last time he did that. For now he was he was just enjoying being free. He may be being a little overdramatic right now but when you spend a week and a half in the same place it starts to definitely feel like a prison. 

Lance was off the motorcycle and bounding up the front steps before Keith could even stop completely. Finally he was back at school where he could transform and go on missions and forget that whole Black Blood incident even happened. Lance turned around when he got to the top of the steps to look down at Keith who was just starting to climb them.

“Come on, man! We are going to be late if you continue to be that slow!” Lance may be happy but Keith seemed even grumpier than he has ever been. Lance didn’t know why though, they had gotten a mission the day before he was let out of house arrest and Lance was elated by it. It had been so long since he transformed he wondered how he ever went a year without it. He need to move, to get back into the swing of things. Keith just glared at him as he got to the top of the stairs. It seemed the more cheerful Lance was the grouchier Keith got. Was he not excited? He hasn’t been on a mission since Lance got sick either. He should be happier than this, he loves to fight.

“Dude, what is your problem? We got a mission as soon as the school day is done. How cool is that? We can finally get out of this stupid rut of doing nothing for the last week and a half and fight. You should be happy. Why aren’t you happy?” Seriously, Keith's mood swings were starting to worry Lance and Lance didn’t worry all that often. Also, it had to be something very important for him to worry about and Keith was starting to climb his list of ‘Important Things Right Now’. 

“The last time we went on a mission you ended up stabbed and in bed for a week and a half or have you forgotten that already? God, you are so careless. For once can you just take care of yourself so I don't have to keep doing it. It’s exhausting.” Keith said while jabbing his finger into Lance’s chest. Lance blinked. Of course he hasn’t forgotten, he just went on a rant about glad he was to be back in his head two minutes ago. Why was Keith being so damn aggressive? When did he start caring about whether or not Lance took care of himself? He was a weapon, not some kid that needed babysitting.

“So what? We always ended up like that in one way or another! We fight non human souls and I turn into a weapon! Our jobs are dangerous but they are our freakin’ jobs. I’m not some girl you need to protect all the time. I’m not some kid that needs you to watch constantly cause you're afraid they’ll get lost. I’m Lance! Second strongest weapon out there after my sister and strongest weapon in the school! I can take care of myself. Maybe if you were such a terrible meister I wouldn’t have gotten stabbed and we wouldn’t be having this conversation!” Lance yelled as he turned and stormed into the school. He didn’t care what Keith had to say. Treating him like he was weak. How dare he. He was infuriating. He always got under Lance’s skin and he knew it. How could Lance ever think they would work well together? 

He thought that the hate he had felt when they first met was gone but Keith had to be Keith and drag it out of Lance again. Falling in love, ha! Lance must be a moron if he ever thought that was the case. No one would ever love a inconsiderate, intolerable, jerk like Keith. It just wasn’t possible. When he got to class he sat in the back of room. He didn’t care that Pidge and Hunk were staring at him and he didn't care when Keith walked into the classroom seconds after him and sat in their usual seats. Leave it to Keith to ruin a perfectly good day because he just had to have his freakin ‘Lets see how mad I can get Lance’ quota filled. 

Lance stared out the window as the lecture began. It was bright and sunny outside. Not a single cloud was in the sky and the people he could see in the distance bustled around and began to start their day. He let his mind wander as he watched the world go by. He and Keith still had that stupid mission to go on after school. He had been so excited to finally be able to fight again and Keith wrenched all that joy away leaving Lance dreading the end of school. 

It’s not like he didn’t want him and Keith to work out. It would make things so much easier and make Resonance less of a hassle to achieve, but every time Lance started to be...himself, Keith got upset about something. Yes, Lance was reckless and maybe he forgot to take care of basic needs every now and again/ But it wasn’t something that needed someone like Keith pointing out every time he did something wrong. He was happy and trusting by nature, always has been always will be, but Keith always stared at him like Lance was hiding something. Lance was allowed his secrets no matter how strong their mental bond was. He was good at keeping them too. Simple emotions like fear, joy or sorrow were easy to send through the bond but Lance knew how to block Keith from finding certain things that he didn’t want him to know. 

It irked Lance how easily Keith was able to see through him though. The guy was a new meister and yet he seemed to know how to do things only experienced meisters could do. He could sense when Lance wasn’t telling the truth and he could feel the disruption when Lance was putting on a emotion he wasn’t actually feeling. Lance hated it. If it were his previous meister doing that than he would have been fine with it because he trusted him. But Keith? Trust wasn’t the word he would use when he thought about Keith. He trusted him enough to not get them both killed but that was it. Confiding in him or leaning on him for support when he was an emotional wreck was not something he could ever see himself doing. 

Class ended and Lance got up from his seat without sparing a glance at Keith as he left the room. The whole day was like that. Every time they had a class together Lance would sit in the back of the room while Keith sat in their normal spots. It didn’t help that he could feel Keith’s anger and annoyance through their bond as well. Good, serves the jerk right for completely destroying Lance’s day. Pidge, Hunk and Shiro had all asked what was going on but Lance didn’t want to tell them so he just grunted a response and waved them away whenever they asked. They stopped asking by third period.

When the day finally ended Lance was done. He didn’t want to go on this mission, he didn’t want to go home. He just wanted to be as far away from Keith as possible and be on his own but the universe didn’t seem to want to be kind to him today. 

He waited for his meister in front of the school and didn’t even look at him when he came out. Lance didn’t say a word to him when they got on Keith's motorcycle and held on to the seat instead of wrapping his arms around Keith’s waist. Their mission was simple, kill a non human soul that has been killing local girls at night and collect its soul. Nothing they haven’t done a thousand times. 

Lanced watched the buildings go by as they made their way out of the city. Looking up at the sky he saw that clouds had begun to set in. Great. The last thing he wanted was to get sick again because of rain. Lance loved the rain normally but right now it wasn’t helping his already terrible mood. The weather began to get colder as they reached the bridge that lead out of the city and Lance now regretted not grabbing a sweater before he left. Wrapping his arms around himself, he risked falling off the bike in favor of keeping himself warm.

How the hell did the weather change so drastically in such a short about of time. Keith didn’t seem to notice or if he did he didn’t seem to care. Figures. He remembered a jacket cause he never takes the damn thing off.  Lance thought it would be nice all day so he didn’t bother with putting on anymore layers other than his shirt. In hindsight, having it be skin tight and sleeveless might have been a bad idea on Lance’s part but that was besides the point right now. Right now he was freezing. 

Lance felt the water fall on to his arm first and then all of a sudden it started to pour. Really? He couldn’t have just one nice thing today? He had already been sick once, he didn’t want to get sick again. When they finally made it to their destination Lance was soaked. Well at least since he was drenched he didn’t feel the cold quite as much. 

He got off the bike and stepped into a huge puddle. Awe man. He really liked these shoes too. Looking up from his trashed shoes, he could barely make anything out in the rain. How the hell were they supposed to fight like this? He felt Keith by his side as he began to trudge through the mud to the town that supposedly had the non human soul in it. Lance was going to get sick for sure. Fantastic. Just what he needed after such a horrid day. 

He felt something heavy on his shoulders and looked to see it was Keith’s jacket. Huh? Keith didn’t give an explanation  why he gave him his jacket, he just kept on walking into the town. Lance may be mad at him and hate him again but he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to get at least a little bit warm. He put the jacket on properly and was surprised at how soft it felt. He thought it was going to be  like the leather jackets gang members wore. Stiff, tight and extremely uncomfortable when wet but it wasn’t. It was nothing like that at all. Whatever the outside was made of kept the water from soaking in and the inside was made of wool or something else that was extremely soft. It was incredible. 

Following Keith into the town, Lance was still confused as to why Keith just gave him his jacket out of the blue. Keith hated anyone touching his jacket and threaten to cut anyone who dared lay a finger on it. Not to mention the fact that Keith was mad at Lance right now. Lance shrugged as he kept walking. Whatever the reason, he wasn’t going to question it now incase Keith got mad again and took it back. He had plenty of time to freak out about Keith’s generosity later. You know, when they weren’t about to fight a non human soul and all that. 

It took forever to find this goddamn non human soul. You would think it would be easy to find since it doesn't exactly blend in but this one seemed to be really good at hiding. Lance and Keith had walked through the entire town at least twice before they heard screaming. Following it wasn’t hard but unfortunately they were too late to save the girl the creature was attacking. Well that sucked. Not like Lance and Keith had a lot of time to feel guilty about it though since the creature lunged at them the second they turned the corner. Jumping back to avoided the disgusting creature, Lance immediately transformed into his weapon form.

Forget dreading this mission. This was going to be fun.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deeper down the rabbit hole we go. This chapter is when Lance unlocks his enchanted sword mode

“Stop shooting randomly! You’re gonna waste all my power!” Lance yelled as Keith continued to shoot at the non human soul without landing a single hit. Despite Lance’s refound joy for this mission earlier, Keith was apparently hell bent on making this the worst experience ever. He didn’t listen to Lance no matter how much Lance was yelling at him. What the hell was his problem? Worst of all every time the non human soul came in for a strike Keith decided to block with his own body rather than use Lance. 

“You are going to get yourself killed if you keep this up! Just use me to block! Why is that so hard for you to get through your head?“ Lance transformed back into human form while they were on the roof of a building. They were safe for the time being from the creature since it didn’t see where they had gone, so Lance wasn’t all too worried. “Do you have a death wish or something?”

Keith just glared at him as he spit blood out of his mouth. He was in terrible shape. He had a split lip that was bleeding and a bruise right above his left eye. His arms were covered in cuts from the creature’s razor sharp nails and his shirt was beyond torn. Lance didn’t have a single scratch on him and he was really starting to worry that his meister did have a death wish after all. 

“No, Lance. Why the hell would I have a death wish? I’m not stupid.” Lance just stared at him.

“Well you could’ve fooled me. What exactly doesn’t make you an idiot? The fact that you are barely standing upright because of your injuries or the fact that you haven’t listen to a word I’ve said this whole time?” This was starting to make Lance very mad. Sure, he’s been angry at his meister all day but it’s not like he wanted him hurt. What Keith trying to guilt trip him for yelling at him earlier? Well if he was, that was a low blow even for him.

“Maybe the fact that I didn’t get overly excited over a mission a week after I was stabbed by a maniac and coughed up black blood. Do you even think about your well being and how that effect the people around you or are you too caught up in your own self arrogance to notice it?”

“Oh, so I am the arrogant one now? I do recall yelling at you to use me to block this entire time. How is that arrogance? I am trying to be a team player here and you are just hopping around getting hurt like some rabid bunny.” What was wrong with him? Just once, could he find in his cold stone heart to freakin rely on Lance when they were in the middle of a fight. Lance didn’t care if he completely ignored him the next day but this was literal life and death right now and he didn’t want to die to some stupid non human soul that he could beat with his eyes closed if Keith would just listen. 

“You’re arrogant because you think you can do whatever you want without thinking about the consequences. You keep telling me to block, but last time I did that you ended up with a gash in your side. What makes you think I’d want that to happen again? If something were to happen to you, I would be out a partner and have to go look for a new one.” That was it. Lance was sick and tired of listening to Keith complaining. He kept trying and trying to make this work but Keith just shut him down at every turn. Lance has had enough.

“Trust me Keith, you’d be lucky to find a new partner. Cause you know what? Turns out not everyone is in the market. You’ll look and look and look and find no one. By the time someone does comes around you’ll be to desperate to even consider the fact that he is a self centered, inconsiderate, unreliable asshole! But you’re stuck with him cause no one else will take you. Who cares if you two work well together at all? Even if one of you is trying again and again to make things work it never will! So go ahead! Find someone new, see if I care. You’re no better than everyone else!” Lance doesn’t think he has ever been this angry in his life. His throat burned with tears of frustration and he was visibly shaking. Lance hated being this angry, but right now he didn’t care. He was so done with Keith and this whole team thing Shiro wanted to happen. 

The look on Keith’s face was utter shock. Lance would have laughed at it if he wasn’t so mad right now. Look at that, the usually stoic Keith at a complete loss of words. Did he not think that Lance had any other emotion but the fake happiness he puts on all the time? Did the fact that he bared his soul to Keith suddenly make him see what an absolute asshole he has been? Lance wished he had a camera to capture this moment and laugh at it every time he saw it in the future. Lance was still so angry that he didn’t see the split second change in Keith’s expression. Then all of a sudden he was being thrown off to the side. Really!? He was going to kill Keith at this rate. 

Sitting up from where he was thrown to the ground on the other side of the roof, he looked over to where Keith was ready to scream at him until his voice was gone. That didn’t happen though. Instead he saw Keith being thrown into the chimney of the building they were on by the creature they had been fighting before. He couldn’t see him in all the rubble from the destroyed chimney. Everything slowed down, Lance had only experienced this once before when his previous meister was killed and that sent a wave of fear through him. 

“KEITH!” Lance got up and ran to him before he could even think about what he was doing. He kneeled down next to the shorter boy and looked him over. He wasn’t moving and his eyes were closed. No no no no no. This can’t be happening. Lance was mad but the last thing he wanted was Keith to be hurt. Tears started to obscure his vision as he desperately looked for a sign that Keith was still alive. He brushed dust from the crushed stone off his face and took him by the shoulders, shaking him and begging him to wake up. 

“Please Keith, I know you hate me, but you can’t do this too me. You can’t leave me on my own. I’m sorry alright! Is that what you wanted to hear?! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! So, please you gotta wake up!” Lance was sobbing but he didn’t try to stop. All he needed was some sign that Keith was alright. As he leaned in closer to his meister he could see the slight rise and fall of Keith’s chest. A feeling of relief washed over him and he rested his forehead on Keith’s. His tears were falling onto his face but they were getting lost in the rain so Lance didn’t try to wipe the away. A wretched shriek from in front of him reminded Lance that the creature who had hurt his meister was still there. He looked up at it, all the anger that he had felt before now direct at the horrid non human soul in front of him. How dare he hurt Keith!

Lance got up from his knees and screamed as he rushed the creature. He didn’t care that he hasn’t learned individual transformation, he was not going to let this creature live for what it’s done. Suddenly he felt a surge of power and he didn’t have anytime to question it. He used it to boost his speed and end up behind the creature before it even had anytime to react. He felt incredible, like he could do anything he wanted to. Without even thinking about it he transformed his arm into a gun and pressed it against the back of the creature’s head.

“Die.” Lance felt a sense of calm as he shot the creature’s head clean off and landed on the ground when it flailed and fell over. Lance landed on his feet and hands after jumping off the creature as elegantly as a cat. The idea of a soul to eat wasn’t even something he wanted right now. He wanted more power. None of the power he was feeling had gone away though. What was happening? He straightened up and looked down at his hands. He was glowing like he would when he was in his weapon state but also in that dark world where his conscious lied. He could feel the power running through his veins and the joy bubbling in his chest from it. There were black markings that looked like tendrils wrapped around his wrist and disappeared under Keith’s jacket as they went up his arm. Keith? Why did that name sound familiar? It held a feeling of malice yet also a feeling of comfort. That’s right, Keith was his meister. But why would he need a meister when he was this powerful on his own?

No, those weren’t his thoughts. They were someone else’s, but they came from him. Lance stared at his hands as he battled with himself. Keith was his meister, he needed him. How could he have forgotten about him? Where was Keith anyway? Had he abandoned him? Was that why Lance felt he didn’t need a meister anymore? No, he didn’t, he was hurt. That’s right. He got hurt because of Lance, because Lance was too wrapped up in his own self loathing to notice the creature behind him. Did that make him a burden? Of course it did, why would Keith want someone as unstable as him? No! Stop, stop, stop. He needed Keith, needed to make sure he was alright.

Lance ran over to Keith who still hadn’t moved from where he left him before. He was dead, no wait, he wasn’t. But how could he be alive? You already confirmed that he was alive. But what if you were wrong? What if he left you just like the other one did. What if you’re all alone? What if no one in this world wants someone like you?

“NOOOOO!” Lance screamed as he grabbed his head, trying to pull his hair out. The voices, there were too many voices. Why were there so many voices in his head? He needed to get out, he needed his meister. He was getting dragged down. Whatever power he was feeling was sucking him in. He couldn’t escape, it was drowning him. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see. couldn’t hear. He had to make it stop, someone had to make it stop. Please, someone help.

Lance felt a hand on his shoulder as he continued to scream. He had to stop, someone was telling him to stop. Someone was telling him to open his eyes. His eyes? He didn’t have his eyes closed, or did he? He wasn’t sure. He needed help, not to open his eyes. He need someone to make this all stop, otherwise he was going to be buried alive by this power. He was being shaken and he wanted that to end. He didn’t need someone to shake him. What if he opened his eyes? Would that make it all better? Lance would do anything to make this better. He opened his eyes and was met with dazzling purple ones. They were filled with concern and fear and then relief when Lance stared at him. It was Keith, he was alive. As Lance continued to stare at him he could no longer hear the screaming voices in his head. His overwhelming power began to fade. Whatever Keith did made it stop. Suddenly Lance was exhausted as all the power seeped out of his body at once. His world went black before he could even ask Keith if he was alright. He remembered falling, falling like he had before. But this time he was caught by strong, warm arms before hitting the ground.

Then everything else disappeared.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some light fluff after such a heavy chapter.   
> Sorry for the late upload, it was a busy day

Where was he? That last thing he remembered was screaming at Keith, trying to get him to wake up. Lance looked around at his surroundings. There was nothing, as far as he could tell, that he recognized. It was like an ocean expect he could walk on the water and there was no sign of a shoreline anywhere. It wasn’t the bright blue that some people compared to his eyes either, it was a washed out color that seemed to be a mix between purple and brown. Fog covered everything at ground level. The only reason Lance new he was on water was the way it moved. It ebbed and flowed like water but he never sank or broke the surface. What the hell was this place?

“Hello!” Lance called out as he began to walk in a direction he picked at random. He had never been somewhere like this before. The only alternate reality he has been in was when he was in weapon form and that was just black. The only comfort from that place was that he could clearly see the glow from his meister’s soul when he was there. There was no soul here though, just emptiness. As Lance continued to walk through the ocean-like expanse in front of him he thought he heard a laugh coming from somewhere. He turned around quickly in the direction he heard it from.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” Lance yelled into nothing. He had sworn he heard a laugh. Maybe something was up with his headphones. He reached up to tap them, but they weren’t there. 

“What the?” That only happened when he was transformed and in his astral projection state. Was he in weapon form right now? But how could that be? He didn’t see Keith’s soul anywhere. 

“So, you finally came by for a visit. It’s been so long I thought you had forgotten about me.” The voice came from above him and as Lance looked up he saw a tree that had apparently come out of nowhere. Sitting on one of the branches was a man. He looked to be much older than Lance and he wore a cloak that went down to his feet and covered most of his body. The hat he was wearing was large and looked like a bowl almost with a point at the top. He grinned down at Lance as he eyes flashed black for a split second.

“Who the hell are you? Where am I? Answer me.” Lance glared at the man as he demanded answers. The man just sat there with a look of utter amusement. 

“So you have forgotten about me. How unfortunate. I thought my sister was going to be the one that would show up here but oh well.” He jumped down from the tree and landed in front of Lance, who took a step back. “I guess it can’t be helped. I’ve been stuck with you from day one anyway. Maybe now that you have set me free you’ll learn to embrace me.”

“What are you talking about? I have no idea who you are.” Lance was already getting ready to fight this guy. Obviously he was crazy and if his eyes told Lance anything it meant he was 2 seconds away from becoming a non human soul. 

“You mean you don’t remember you’re play mate Masamune? That hurts my dear Lance.” The man smiled sickly at Lance as his eyes widen. There was no way that this guy could be him. He was just an imaginary friend anyway, tons of kids had them. The man laughed as he turned and he began to walk away. 

“Wait!” Lance yelled after him, “You still haven’t told me what is going on!” The man waved as he started to vanish into thin air.

“Why on earth would I spoil the surprise? Besides there are people calling for you on the outside world. It would be rude to keep them waiting.” As soon as he finished talking the man was gone. 

Lance just stood there dumbfounded. From what he could understand, his imaginary friend Masamune from when he was 4 was now somehow a real being. And they were in what he could only assume his head. Was he on drugs or something? This couldn’t possibly be real. As soon as Lance thought that he was hit with a wave of voices. Tons of people calling for him. No, it was two people or was it three? He closed his eyes against all the noise and suddenly whatever place he was in was gone. There was nothing but blackness behind his eyelids. Then there were those voices again. They weren’t like the ones that were all screaming at once when his power was overflowing. Those had been filled with doubt and made him feel like he was on his own. These voices had fear and concern in them and they kept repeating his name.

As Lance finally managed to open his eyes, the first thing he saw was light. He was staring at the sky and probably directly into the sun or he guessed the moon since it was night. Still sudden light of any kind was painful after being in the dark. The next thing he saw was someone moving above him to block the light. Lance blinked a few times to clear his blurry vision and see who was above him. Shiro? Why was Shiro here? Come to think of it, where was ‘here’? Lance couldn’t remember anything after what happened to Keith expect for the feeling of incredible power and the sound of a hundred voices in his head. 

“What happened?” His voice was raw and scratchy and it hurt just to whisper words. Was that because of his screaming? He remembered he was screaming about something but he couldn’t remember what. 

“Thank god you’re okay. When Keith called me saying you had collapsed, I thought the worst had happened.” Shiro said as he helped Lance sit up. Lance clung to his arm as an anchor and leaned against the wall of the alley it looked like they were in. 

“Keith? Keith! Where is he? Is he okay?” Another person came into view and Lance saw it was Keith. He looked just as he did when he last saw him, covered in injuries and blood still oozing from his split lip. 

“I’m fine Lance. You’re the one I am worried about. You collapsed after nearly screaming till your voice gave out. Are you alright?” Keith said as he put his hand on Lance’s forehead, probably to check if he had a fever. Lance didn’t think twice about what he was doing as he pulled Keith into a tight hug. He didn’t care that Keith seemed to freeze as soon as he wrapped his arms around him, he just needed some validation that he was real and in front of him. 

“Don’t ever do that again. I thought you were dead. I thought I had gotten you killed because of my carelessness. I am sorry I yelled earlier. I shouldn’t have, just thank god you’re alive.” This might be completely out of Lance’s character but just the thought of going through the same thing that happened to his previous meister and being just as helpless now as he was then filled his head with fear. It was terrifying to think about and he must has sent quite a bit of what he was feeling through the link because Keith relaxed and started to pet his head. 

“It’s okay Lance. It was my fault to. I didn’t mean to make you so scared, but everything is going to be okay now.” Lance didn’t let go of Keith, but instead just held him tighter. Keith didn’t complain, just kept running his hands through his hair and saying soft reassurances until Lance was sure enough he was real to let go. He stared at Keith and then smiled. 

“Well all things considered, maybe now we will finally be able to Resonance.” Keith laughed and it was one of the prettiest things Lance had ever heard. Lance had never heard Keith laugh before and now that he had, he didn’t want him to stop.

“Yes, all things considered. Come on.” Keith stood up and offered his hand to Lance. “Let’s go home. We are both still soaked and we’re gonna catch a cold if we stay out here any longer.” Lance took his hand and stood up. He hadn’t even noticed it had stopped raining. Once he was on his feet again Keith let go of his hand. Lance was slightly disappointed at that until he felt himself being lifted. 

“Hey, hey hey. W-what are you doing?” Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s neck on reflex as his meister picked him up bridal style.

“Carrying you. What does it look like?” Keith raised an eyebrow like Lance just asked the stupidest question.

“I figured that much out. I meant why are you carrying me?” Lance’s face was burning. The last time Keith did this he was barely conscious and could hardly remember it. Now, however he was wide awake and completely aware of what was happening.

“Because you collapsed earlier. I don’t want that happening again. Shiro brought his car so you don’t have to worry about holding onto the bike seat on my motorcycle.” Keith said nonchalantly as he started to walk out of the small town to where he parked his bike and where Shiro was since he had gone on ahead to the car. 

“B-but you’re hurt. Way more than me in fact, you shouldn’t be carrying me. Y-you could worsen one of your injuries.” Lance stammered as Keith carried him. He couldn’t figure out if this was embarrassing or if he secretly liked it. He was going to go with embarrassing, it left him with more dignity. 

Keith rolled his eyes, “None of my injuries are life threatening alright. Just a few cuts and bruises. The worst one is gonna be a large bumped on the back of my head from hitting the chimney but other than that I am fine. Did you forget miesters are stronger than normal people?” He looked down at his weapon as he spoke. 

“Well excuse me for forgetting. I was a little preoccupied with trying to figure out if you were dead or not.” None of Lance’s words had an venom in them, they were most just out of habit from always arguing with his meister. 

“Well I’m not dead so you don’t have to worry anymore.” 

They got to Shiro’s car and Keith set Lance down so he could get in. Keith’s motorcycle was already in the back and Lance wrapped his arms around his knees when Keith got in after him. He was still wearing Keith’s jacket and it made him feel more calm than he thought it would. As Shiro started driving back to the city the soothing motions of the car started to make Lance tired. Leaning against Keith, he fell asleep within minutes. 

When he woke up he was back in their apartment, in his bed. He turned over and was face to face with his sleeping meister. Why was Keith in his bed and why was he sleeping? They might be on better terms now but this was a little sudden. All of Lance’s panic melted away though when Keith shifted closer to him and tightened his grip in his waist. They hadn’t seemed to have bothered with the blankets and Lance found he was in a slightly oversized sweater and sweatpants. He looked back at his meister and smiled a bit at how peaceful he looked. It was completely different than how he looked when he was passed out and even if he still had the bruises over his left eye, he looked just as stunning as always. 

Now that Lance was awake, he didn’t feel like going back to sleep. Instead he continued to watch his meister sleep. He didn’t need to think about the weird power he felt earlier or the strange man in his head. All he needed right now was to be next to his meister, who was breathing and had a heart that was beating and was so very, very alive. 

Yeah, that’s all Lance needed right now.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late upload, yesterday I was out of town for the whole day and I didn't have any wifi  
> Here is some fluff and maybe a kiss or two ; P

So it wasn’t Lance that got sick but instead it was Keith. Lance had woken up to coughing in the morning and even though his miester kept insisting he was alright Lance made him stay home from school whether he liked it or not. Now Lance was in the kitchen trying to figure out how to make chicken noodle soup. When he was young his mom would always make it for him whenever he was sick, but she never made it from the can. She always said that a home cooked meal was infinitely better than something store bought because it was made with love and care. As Lance stood in the middle of the kitchen, looking around and barely knowing how to make something more that ramen, he figured he was going to have to settle for soup from a can.

Looking in the pantry he noticed that there was barely anything left to eat period,  let alone soup. He sighed, he was going to have to go out and buy soup. Usually that didn’t matter to him since he was used to doing things on his own but Keith was sick and the last thing he wanted to do was leave him all alone in the apartment. Keith also needed food though and that was more important than the uneasy feeling Lance got when thinking about leaving him here. Even if he was sick, he was still able to handle himself if anything happened. 

Lance walked into the bedroom, his bedroom, since he didn’t want Keith to get up if he didn’t have too. Plus, last night they were sleeping here after the mission, so it just kind of happened. Lance set the glass of water that he had gotten Keith on the nightstand where he normally puts his headphones. Keith was breathing slightly heavier than what was good and his face was flushed. Lance frowned as he felt Keith’s forehead. He was burning up and it didn’t look like it was going to break on it’s own. Serves the idiot right for walking around in the rain without a jacket but Lance can’t really be mad at him since it was his fault for forgetting a jacket in the first place. Keith let out a little sound at the feeling of Lance’s cold hand against his hot forehead and looked at Lance. His eyes were unfocused and glazed over but they never lost their brilliance and Lance was impressed by that.

“Hey Keith, I got to go out for a little bit to buy soup okay?” Lance had never thought he would talk to Keith this softly before but he had dealt with his siblings being sick before and soft and calm voices seem to work better than normal ones, especially if they have a headache. Keith scrunched up his nose when Lance said he was going out and Lance couldn’t help but think that was pretty darn cute.

“For how long?” Keith voice was thick and cracked a lot. It was painful just to watch him talk so Lance tried to make sure he didn’t talk unnecessarily. 

“Maybe half and hour. I’ll try not to take longer than that. You should just sleep, your fever won’t get better if you don’t rest.” Keith only nodded at his words and closed his eyes. Lance waited until he was asleep before he grabbed his jacket and wallet and walked out the door into the sunshine. The bright sun made it seem like the torrential downpour from yesterday never happen. If the air didn’t smell so fresh and the sidewalk wasn’t covered in puddles, Lance wouldn’t have thought it happened either. Making his way down the street Lance watched as kids from the neighborhood laughed and splashed in the puddles, mucking up their shirt and getting their pants all wet. It made him smile. 

As he walked to the store Lance thought about his current relationship with Keith. It didn’t look like they would be fighting as bad that they did yesterday again so that was good. Where they would go from here though, Lance didn’t know. He wasn’t mad at his meister anymore and he didn’t hate him. It might be too quick to jump back to the thought of him falling in love since it has only been one day but he was sure with time it could lead to that. As he thought about it he knew he would fall in love but what about Keith. Keith had hated him up into this point and even now Lance wasn’t sure what he thought about him. Obviously he was happy his weapon hadn’t died and had even put himself in danger to save him but what did that mean?

Walking into the store Lance decided not to think about it too much cause it was making his head hurt. He didn’t want to ruin the nice thing they had now by scaring Keith with talk of love so he figured he would just wait and see how it all played out. Lance walked through the aisles aimlessly, looking for where they kept the soup. He made a mental note to come back later today when Keith had eaten to buy more food since they had nothing back home. Finally he found the soup in the back near the freezer section. There were a lot of choices but Lance just went with the simplest version he could find of chicken noodle soup because he didn’t know if Keith even liked chicken noodle soup. If he didn’t Lance was going to have to fix that soon cause that had to be a crime. 

Before he went to the check out he stopped to browse the freezer section which had mostly ice cream in it. Lance couldn’t remember the last time he had ice cream because of all the crazy things that had been going on lately. He had told himself that he had only come here to buy soup but it wouldn't hurt to grab some ice cream as well. Opening the glass door of the freezer, he grabbed a half a pint of dark chocolate ice cream since that was his favorite and made his way over to the check out. The woman there was very nice and her smile was bright. After she had rung everything up and Lance paid for it, she called a good bye to him as he walked out the door and he waved and smiled in return. 

It hadn’t taken him as long as he thought it would and Lance made it home in about 20 minutes. He took his jacket off as soon as he walked through the door and threw his wallet on to the counter. He put the ice cream into the freezer and got started on making the soup for Keith. He hummed to himself as he made his way around the kitchen to get things he needed. The apartment was quiet but for once Lance didn’t mind. Since his meister was there it didn't feel lonely. It was like a calm serenity. Lance forgot sometimes the quiet wasn’t a bad thing but a comforting thing. 

When he finished the soup he made sure to clean everything up so he wouldn’t have to do it later and brought the bowl of soup into the bedroom. He set it down by the water that Keith hadn’t touched. Kneeling down next to the bed, Lance shook his meister gently to wake him up. When slightly clouded purple eyes opened and met his bright blue ones, he smiled. 

“Hey. I made you soup. Can you sit up for me so you can eat it?” Keith groaned at the idea of having to move but did what he was told because he was starving. Lance made sure there were pillows to support his back and head when he leaned against the headboard. He sat down on the bed next to him and picked up the bowl of soup. 

“Do you want me to feed it to you or do you want to eat it on your own?” Lance had no problem feeding it to his meister but he didn’t know how Keith felt about it. Lance didn’t want to overstep his boundaries and do something that made Keith uncomfortable. 

“Don’ care.” Keith said, his words were slurred with drowsiness and the sickness. He ached all over and couldn’t care less if his weapon fed him right now because he didn’t want to move at all. Lance didn’t need any further prompting as he brought the spoon full of soup to Keith’s lips. His miester ate it without a fuss. They continued like that until he had eaten all of it and Lance helped him drink his water too. 

Since there wasn’t much to do while his meister was sick, Lance decided to sit next to him in bed, against the wall, and draw while Keith slept. It was partly because he wanted to keep an eye on him and partly because he wanted to draw him while he slept. It may sound creepy, but it was the truth. Lance had been drawing Keith a lot lately even before their rocky relationship had smoothed out some and it seemed to relax him for whatever reason. As time ticked by Lance had nearly finished his drawing when he felt Keith shift beside him.

“What’re you doin?” Keith was looking slightly better as he looked over at his weapon. Lance felt his forehead again before answering and was happy with the fact that his fever seemed to have gone down. With any luck he would be better in a day or two. 

“Drawing.” Lance finally answered.

“Of what?” Lance hesitated. He wasn’t sure how Keith would feel about him drawing him all the time.

“Of stuff and things.” He settled on since that was easier to say.

“Can I see?” Of course he would ask that. Lance didn’t want to deny him his request since he was sick and sick people should get what they want but he was still unsure of showing it to him.

“I- uh - I guess you can see it. I don’t know if you’ll like what you see though.” Keith managed to sit up on his own and took the sketch book when Lance handed it to him. Lance pulled his knees up to his chest and braced himself for what Keith might say to him.

Keith leafed through the pages of animals and scenery. He paused though when it started to be just drawings of him. Lance’s face heated up when he sees his meister just staring at them. He must seem like a total creep right now. 

“These are really good.” Keith said as he resumed his leafing. Wait what?

“You think so?” So he didn’t think Lance was a creep? That must just be the sickness then.

“Yeah. I didn’t know I looked like that from that angle. You’re really good at capturing the naturalness of something. Do you take lessons?” Now Lance’s face was red for a completely different reason

“No. I started drawing when I was a kid. I wasn’t good at it then but I loved it so I kept trying to get better. It’s not that good even now but it’s good you like it I guess.” Lance was proud of himself for getting through that without stammering but when he looked up from the blanket he had been staring at he definitely wasn’t going to get anything else out with stammering. Keith was looking at him with a look of wonder. Lance never thought he would see that look on him, let alone aimed at him.

“You did this all self - taught? Lance, that’s amazing.” Lance was going to be the one with a fever this time with how hot his face was getting.

“Y-you really t-think so?” Dammit, he was stuttering. Keith did things to him and he didn’t like it. “I- I never really t-thought of it as a-amzing before since there a-are tons of other artists better t-than m-me.” Now Keith was smiling and Lance was sure to have a heart attack. He tried to calm down his racing heart. 

“No, Lance, it really is amazing. You got a lot of talent, I’m impressed. Anything else you’re good at?” It wasn’t fair how calm Keith was while Lance was having a mental breakdown over just how gorgeous his smile was. 

“I can p-play guitar.”

“Guitar really? I love guitar.” Keith’s smile turned into a grin and Lance grabbed a pillow to hide his face in because it was literally on fire. Keith laughed when he did that but it wasn’t a mean laugh, it was bright and clear despite the fact that he was still sick. 

“I can play you something if you want.” Lance’s voice was muffled by the pillow but Keith seemed to understand. 

“Would you? That would be great.” Lance just nodded and made his way off the bed. He only took the pillow off his face when he was safely standing on the ground and went to his closet to grab his guitar. He got back on the bed and sat down beside Keith.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve played so it might not be the best.” Lance’s hands fell into place as if he had never put the guitar down and started strumming the strings to make sure it was tuned. 

When it was tuned he started playing one of his favorite songs, Guillotine by Jon Bellion. As he got lost in the song he began singing the words, forgetting for a moment that Keith was there next to him. 

As soon as the song ended, he looked up at Keith who had been silent the whole time.   
He had that same look of wonder on his face and just stared at Lance. Lance was going to say something when all of a sudden Keith leaned forward and pressed his lips against his. Lance’s brain shut down and he couldn’t think of anything. It was a long moment before he thought to kiss back. When Keith pulled away all too soon he was smiling. 

“You really are amazing Lance.” 

“Y-y-you just kissed me.” Lance couldn’t breathe. He had to blame this on the sickness to keep himself sane right now. How the hell could Keith be so calm? Even if he was sick this was just impossible.

“Yeah, did you not like it?” Keith's smile turned into a frown as he tilted his head slightly, kind of like a puppy. 

“No, I mean I don’t know. W-why did you kiss me?” Lance’s brain was still trying to understand everything that was happening.

Keith shrugged, “Seemed like the right thing to do, you know. Like going with the flow.”

“Ah. Okay. Um, can we do it again? I-if you don’t mind it of course!” That might have been too loud but all the blood rushing in Lance’s ears was making it hard for him to hear how loud he was being. Keith gave him his gorgeous smile again and leaned it. This time Lance was the one to close the gap and kiss him properly. 

This might be too fast. This might only be because Keith was sick and still had a fever. This might be a huge mistake. This might be the only thing Lance wants to do for the rest of his life if he could. Even though Keith’s lips were chapped and dry, they were still soft and warm against his.

This might not be so bad after all.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone in the comments of the last chapter said Lance would get sick and I thought why not. : D  
> Poor baby gets sick every few chapters

Lance groaned as he got up from bed. It was a few days after sharing with Keith his love for art and music and Lance felt horrible. He stumbled into the kitchen, he hadn’t bothered to put his headphones on this morning so everything was silent but he didn’t mind it all that much. Before Keith came along he could count the number of times he had been sick on his hand, now it seemed like every other week he was sick for some reason or another and that reason always had Keith dead center in the middle of it. He didn’t necessarily hate his meister right now, but he was definitely annoyed at him for getting him sick. 

Keith was already in the kitchen when Lance walked in. His fever had broken the day after their kiss, probably because he passed his cold to Lance, and now he seemed healthier than ever before. Lance envied him. 

“Morning.” Lance’s voice didn’t sound like his own, not that he’d know since he couldn’t hear it, but it was low and hoarse and very gruff. Keith turned around at the sound of it from where he was making breakfast and smiled. 

“Morning Lance. Did you get better sleep than you did the night before?” Ever since their kiss Keith has been smiling a lot more and each time it made Lance’s heart flutter like a butterfly. He was still his grumpy self around everyone else but not around Lance it seemed like and it made Lance feel special. Made him feel like he was the only one that got to see this side of Keith. 

Lance shook his head to answer his meister’s question. He had spent the whole night puking his guts out and fighting with the covers because he was either too cold or too hot. Keith frowned at his answer and walks over to check his forehead. His hand was cold and  felt good against Lance’s burning hot skin so if Lance leaned into his touch a little more that usual that was the reason why and not because he liked the feel of Keith’s smooth but callused hands on his skin. That would be crazy.

“You’re burning up. I thought you said it was just a head cold.” Keith frowned even more and if Lance had the energy he would joke about how his face would get stuck that way if he kept it up. Instead he just groaned and leaned his forehead on Keith’s shoulder. He didn’t care if this crossed some unspoken lines, he was to sick to put much thought into any of his actions. Keith didn’t say anything because it would have fallen on literal deaf ears. What he did instead was tap the Cuban boy’s head so he would look up and stop leaning on him. He then took his arm, guiding him to the couch in the living room. He made Lance lay down and the weapon really had no issue with this because it made his head stop spinning. 

Keith left him there for what seemed like hours. When he came back he was carrying blankets and pillows in his arms. Walking over to Lance, he arranged them so the pillows were helping Lance sit upright against the arm of the couch and the blankets were tucked around him like a burrito. This time Lance could see him when he left again and he was back in the kitchen. Lance assumed he was finishing up making breakfast. The weapon stared at his meister as he moved around the kitchen. It was a deja vu moment but it was also comfortable familiarity. Keith didn’t seem to mind the staring and Lance didn’t stop until the call of sleep was too much and he decided to take a quick catnap. 

When he woke up he expected Keith to be gone since it was a school day and they did have to go to school but he wasn’t. He was sitting at the end of the couch reading a book. It was kind of a strange scene because for as long as Lance has known Keith he has never once seen him read. He had never seen him sit still in one place really. Keith was always on the move, much like Lance except Keith always had clear goals. He needed to get training done or he needed to go see Shiro or he needed to make something to eat. He never seemed like he was moving around with unbridled energy like Lance did. It was something Lance had never noticed until now but as he put the pieces together Keith was probably just as energetic and he was, he was just better at disguising it. 

Lance’s shifting made Keith look up from the book he was reading and look over at him. He seemed unnaturally calm for Lance and the Cuban boy wondered how long he had been sleeping and how long Keith had been sitting there. 

“How long was I out?” Lance managed to get out through his dried throat. It felt like it was made of sandpaper and he would love nothing more than a glass of water right now. 

Keith looks at the clock that is ticking above their T.V. on the far wall. “About two hours, you fell asleep around 8 and it’s 10 now.” Lance groaned but it was for a different reason now. He was late for school and he didn’t think he was going to make it to class at all since he didn’t feel any better than he did this morning. Ms. Marie was already scolding him for doing poorly in her class and now he had to miss a day of it. His life sucked right now. 

“How long have you been sitting there?”

Keith shrugged, “About two hours as well.” He gets up and walks over to Lance’s end of the couch. Kneeling down he put his hand on his forehead again to check his fever. Clicking his tongue he takes it away. 

“It still hasn’t gone down yet. I guess I am going to have to take care of you huh?” He shakes his head and mumbles about Lance being stupid and getting sick to himself that Lance can’t hear. Lance grins at the news.

“Yay. Keith will be my own personal nurse. How about a kiss for your sick patient.” They haven’t kissed since that time after playing his guitar and Lance jokes around about wanting another one because he can’t work up the courage to flat out ask Keith to kiss him. Keith just stares at him and then flicks him in the forehead.

“Ow!” Lance whines as he covers the offended spot with his hand. “Why did you do that?”

“Why do you think? If I kissed you then I would get sick again and it would be a never ending cycle for the two of us. Do you think before you ask questions?” Lance can’t hear it but there is none of the usual anger in his meister’s voice. Normally he would get mad and flip out when Lance asks for another kiss but this time it was more of a playful banter and Keith lets Lance known that by offering the Cuban boy a small smile. 

“I didn’t really hear a no though.” Lance said hopefully. This is the first time Keith hasn’t shut him down the second he opens his mouth to joke about it and that means they are making progress. 

“Tell you what. When you are better and healthy again I will let you have one kiss. Just one okay?” Lance lights up at those words and never has he wanted to get better faster than he does right now in his whole life. He nods vigorously and Keith chuckles at his enthusiasm.

“Good. Now that we have that out of the way, are you hungry at all?” At the mention of hunger Lance’s stomach makes a growling noise and he face heats up. He nods again a little more embarrassed that he was 15 seconds ago. Keith smiles again. 

“Alright, I’ll make you something to eat. I probably won’t be more than 15 minutes.” And with that he gets up to go into the kitchen. Lance assumes his meister had already eaten breakfast than. There is a warm, fuzzy feeling at being taken care of by Keith that Lance feels in the pit of his stomach. It’s not a new thing, Keith took care of him after the black blood incident, but now they were fighting and they didn’t hate each other so it was more loving in a way. At least that’s what Lance likes to see it as. Keith is probably just being nice and would do this for any of his sick friends but Lance likes to think that he is special. That not only does he get to see a different side of Keith but he also get to be the only one that is taken care of by him. 

As Lance is lost in his thoughts, Keith comes back to the couch with a bowl of soup and a cup of tea. He sets the tea on the coffee table and sits down next to the weapon on the couch which is easy because Lance is pretty skinny. 

“Are you going to feed it to me?” Lance asks with a grin. 

“Not if you are ungrateful about it.” Lance shakes his head. Which was a bad idea in retrospect cause now he is dizzy again.

“No, no. I am super grateful about it.” Keith seems to approve of that answer. 

“Good. Now open up.” He lifts the spoon from the bowl and Lance opens his mouth to eat it. It was a reversal of what happened a few days ago and Lance feel a little silly despite his joking manner but he is also really happy. He feel absolutely awful but Keith being there with him makes it seem just a tad better than if he had to go through this on his own. 

When he finished the bowl of soup he felt a little bit better. Keith put the empty bowl and the coffee table and before Lance could think twice about it he wraps his arms around his meister's torso and snuggles into him as much as he can from this slightly awkward angle. 

“Thanks. You really didn’t have to stay and take care of me you know.” Keith seemed to say something in return but Lance didn’t catch it. He did hear the rumble in his chest when he spoke though and it was comforting in a way. 

“Again, say something again.” As much as this confused Keith, he indulged in his weapon’s request and started talking. 

After awhile they shifted into a more comfortable position with Keith on his back and Lance laying with his head on his chest. Keith kept talking. He talked about everything, about things that didn’t really matter. When he ran out of things to talk about he started humming. Lance loved this. It was the first time that he actually enjoyed not having his headphones on and while he likes Keith’s voice a lot he also loves this special way of listening to him. This was unique, this was completely his. No one else has done this will Keith and his heart soars at that idea. 

They stayed like that for hours. Sometimes Lance would fall asleep but each time he woke up Keith was still there to greet him and let him hear that wonderful sound in his chest. It was like they were in their own little world for the whole day. If Lance could he would have kissed Keith silly during it as well. He was definitely in love and now he didn’t really have a problem with admitting it to himself. He didn’t know if Keith felt the same and he didn’t want to ruin what they had now with questions. 

Instead he just listened. Listened to Keith's voice, his heart, everything about him. For the first time since he lost his hearing he listened. 

And Keith was the most beautiful sound he has ever heard.


End file.
